Project Closure — Ending Properly

Project closure is one of the most neglected phases — and one of the most valuable for organizational learning.

Project closure activities:

Obtain formal acceptance of all deliverables from the customer

Release project resources (team, equipment, budget)

Archive project documents in the organizational knowledge base

Conduct lessons learned sessions

Close contracts (verify all work is complete, release retainage)

Write final project report

Celebrate team success

Lessons learned:

Document what went well and what could be improved

Conducted throughout project and formally at closure

Stored in organizational process assets for future projects

Cover all areas: scope, schedule, cost, quality, risk, communications, procurement, team

Administrative closure vs. Contract closure:

Administrative closure — close out the project internally

Contract closure — formally close procurement contracts; verify all deliverables received and accepted

Why projects are terminated early: Objectives met earlier than planned, insufficient funding, priorities changed, environmental changes, strategic pivot.

Reference:

Wikipedia: Project Management

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_management